WHY OROP PEACEFUL AGITATION BY ESM...

Cdr Sharan Ahuja Sja

22 hrs · Edited ·

Hi All,

1.    If anyone still questions the reasons behind the recent agitation of the Veterans at Delhi, he/ she should read the article below. It gives the back ground of the sordid happenings behind the present unrest among the Veterans. And by extension, among the serving soldiers. However, I will like to high light just two aspects as an introduction - emotional though it may be.

I. The degradations of the Armed Forces(AF) started soon after India's Independence. Most of the political netas were new to power and especially administration. The senior AF officers too were wet behind their ears. They were accustomed only to the battle fields of World War-2. Since most of the officer Corps then were British, and after the British left in '47, there were only a handful of Indian Senior Officers of the rank of Colonels and Brigadiers. Even they never had a taste for the behind the scene activities which help to formulate Govt policies. For example the senior most Indian Officer of the Army then was Cariappa, who was an acting Brigadier with about 16 years of service at the end of WW-2. Within a couple of years, he found himself as a General and Chief of Army. His staff officers were in even worse state, finding themselves pitchforked into high and important positions, for which they had not been trained. I know of cases where officers who were Captains in 1947, were Major Generals within 6 years!. They, therefore, did not have the on job training required for higher commands .On the other hand, the ICS had been in administering India, hand in gloves with the British. The vast majority of them were "Gora Sahibs" without any empathy for those whom they were trained to look down upon, as the"Natives". And they, while bolstering up their own perks, prevailed upon the inexperienced netas to distrust the AF and to put the"AF In Their Place". The military coups around India in the early 1950s helped them vastly in their aim. And, smart as they were, they started by lowering the inter-se status, powers, pay and perks of the AF. Also, keeping them away from decision making even on matters of crucial national security.

II. The psyche of the "Fauji" also is blame worthy here. The Fauji reposes implicit trust in his superiors (I will even suggest that this is imperative in battle). He has been brought up to place his welfare, honour and safety in the hands of his superiors. It might have been the battle winning factor in the field. But, when this faith was transferred blindly to the "Sarkar", unfortunately, it turned out to be a receipe for disaster. The "Sarkar" robbed them blindly over a long period of time, as explained in the article here. I know, because I too was a part of the system. Even in 1965, when I got commissioned, my basic pay was Rs 450/-(Rs 50/- more than the IAS entrants of the day). And in 1973, when the III CPC reduced the pension of Faujis from 70% to 50 % of last pay drawn (while simultaneously increasing the pension on the civil side from 30% to 50% !!), I ,as a Major-leave alone a poor Jawan - did not even take notice of it. Three reasons :-
(a) The blind faith in "Sarkar"
(b) A large body of us were in field area, where access to news was almost nil. Only some lucky few had access to even transistor. In any case, just after the magnificent victory by the AF in the 1971 war, no one thought that we will be stabbed in the back by an ungrateful Sarkar.
(c) Till early 1970s, the influence of the Rajas, Maharajas (just for example, Amrinder Singh, the Maharajah of Patiala and ex-CM of Punjab, was a Cadet with me in NDA while Bhavani Singh, the Maharajah of Jaipur was my Instructor as a Captain, at IMA) and the rich land owning class, who officered the army in large numbers after Independence, and had left their indelible mark on the rest of us. We were taught that any consideration for money made you a "Baniya". The soldier's dharma was only battle. While this had some positive aspects (there was no corruption in the uniform !), the flip side was that we remained ignorant of the wily ways of the babus and the Sarkar - especially on matters financial.

2. The wily netas and babus have since then tightened their strangle hold over governance (or what goes under this name !) in India. This was expected under the Congress. Because, the netas were corrupt and they had to pander to the egoes and wishes of the babus, who knew of their dark secrets and some of whom even had their hands equally on the till. But, with Modi at the helm of the new NDA, like the Aam Aadmi, the fauji too expected a fair deal from him. More so, when he repeatedly announced the implementation of OROP both before the election and after his swearing. He announced the implementation of (or at a couple of places, the-soon-to-be- implemented) OROP as per the definition approved by at least 4 Committees of Parliament, a number of Govts and included in the last two budgets. And he did this from the heights of Siachin and the decks of INS Vikramaditya, soon after taking over as the PM. There is a saying in Malayalam, which loosely translated means, "You may or may not give a man an elephant, but never give him a hope that you fail to fulfill ".  Modi has now done that unthinkable.

3. Lastly, OROP is only partly - and a small part at that - about money. The major hurt is caused to the psyche of the soldiers because he now feels that there is no one he can trust in the "Sarkar". He is only being kicked around when the netas and babus so desire. IN OTHER WORDS , HE FEELS THAT HE IS ONLY BEING USED BY THIS UNHOLY NEXUS OF POWER BROKERS, WHO LORDS IT OVER HIM - IN OTHER WORDS, HE NOW KNOWS HOW A CONDOM FEELS LIIKE!. This is a very serious matter. Because, the day a soldier is deprived of his IZZAT, India will be on a slippery ground. Once a soldier is forced to eschew his self respect and Izzat, we will loose the cutting edge in him. And then, the slide will be fast. Unfortunately, our netas and babus, living in their ivory towers, refuse to see this truth. And, if and when the enemy walks in, the tolling of the bells would be too late. The great victories of the Army- as late as of Tiger Hill et al - were won by men who were fired by the concept of IZZAT and loyalty. When our Govt under cuts these very foundations, you can't blame the dis-illusioned soldiers. But, I wonder if anyone is aware of these realities. I am afraid, none in the Govt is !. No

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  Kj Singh Meeting with the PM was false news. A rumour spread by vested interests. And like idiots we all fell for it. Be careful in future. Sharan pass this on to all.

  22 hrs · Like · 5
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  Harkirat Manmohan Singh Good Presentation Of the fact.

  22 hrs · Like · 2
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  Deepak Sawhney I believe they met talks failed wanted to fix OROP at 2011 levels ESM wanted it at 2014 Rejected by ESM message from a group

  22 hrs · Like · 2
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  Sarjit Singh Sandhu Am sorry to disagree
  No one was wet behind the so called ears
  Power went to their heads and they (the senior officer's ) forgot their duty and sacrificed the principles that are sacrosanct. 
  Their only agenda was to grind their own axes and that is what led to the present situation. They failed to stand up for the rights of those who reposed their trust in them. So let us stop passing the buck and for once put up our hands and admit that we failed those who trusted us

  22 hrs · Like · 11
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  Brig Satish Prakash Agarwal Whatever projected in the version is totally correct n is indisdputable..what is needed is to go to people n put our case threadbare.They still respect us .We have to restore our social dignity which the successive govts, aided n abetted by the self seeker babus, downgraded.

  11 hrs · Like · 1
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  Devenderpal Singh our failure , so whom to blame , they will do what they decide ,

  8 hrs · Like · 2
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  ColRajeev Chopra Our national leadership constituted lawyers who were clueless on the Armed Forces. Pakistan where the Forces called all the shots added to their fear of the forces. They sympathised and empathised with us but confined us to our cantonments and never allowed us to be part of the National stream for nation building. Under these circumstances the Forces leadership was left to collecting doles !!!

  6 hrs · Like · 1

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